night train bobsled

Whistler, British Columbia – Steve Holcomb never flinched.

Not when cost to end 62 years of drought for the United States in the sliding of the race tent.

When not trying to navigate in the world to track down the most dangerous.

And not in Germany when Andre Lange valiantly tried to hang on to the Olympic title.

Holcomb dealing with all this Saturday, the leadership of the United States – 1 to win the gold medal in the four ski men, the first American pilot to do so since Francis Tyler at St. Moritz in 1948. After winning, he reinforced the status of his famous “Night Train” sleigh and pay a team of Justine Olsen, Steve Mesler and Kurt Tomasevicz as sliding better.

“This will take some time for it to sink in,” said Holcomb. “You work hard and when we get there in the end it’s like, well, what do we do now? I do not know what to do ‘. I have worked hard and went through a lot in the past four years. To end on a high note like this vast and overwhelming.”

World Champion, 2009. The Olympic spirit, 2010.

“You can not do any better,” said U.S. coach Brian Shimer, bronze medalist in 2002, the year the Americans also won the silver medal in four players with Hayes would like to join Shimer on that podium.

However, Shimer began to cry, unable to restrain any longer.

Holcomb tamed at all, track, has completed four runs in 3 minutes, 24.46 seconds. Lang was 0.38 seconds back to silver, and his questto win five gold medals at the Olympics five attempts to stop, and Canada Lyndon Rush drove ski the bronze medal.

Lang celebrated wildly in the end, as if he had won. In his view, as it was.

“Coming to the day,” said Kevin Kuske, and one of the Lang pushers, “We know silver, and was everything we can to win.”

Holcomb is that dominant. It is not apologetic, either.

“I’m good friends with Andre, so it’s exciting,” Holcomb said. “At the same time, it’s,` I did not mean to rain on your view – but I have my own supply at present. ”

He and his colleagues sledmates crossed the finish line, the index finger in the air, then wrapped each other in American flags as red, white and blue crowd and with the joy of flying. Holcomb lifted his helmet and raised the family and friends for photographs, and a party inthe United States waited 62 years to throw was finally getting under way.

“It’s huge,” said the United States 3 – driver Mike Cohen, who finished 13th. “This is a great moment.”

On the podium for the race in the flower ceremony – medals came in later on Saturday – Tomasevicz Holcomb pulled out a hat, and planted for the exchange of kisses on his bald leading, head sweaty. Sealed with a kiss, and was, and then stood on the four colleagues together, and did what is known as “Holcy dance”, and states that mixing step Holcomb does not keep his team loose.

“It means a lot,” said Darrin Steele, CEO of the United States Bobsled and Skeleton Federation. “We have been a long road, but all the ingredients together. You can put the sleigh and a team together, and you do not know how to proceed in the way.”

Holcomb was wandering around a race in about an hour before the final heat, shaking his finger, he speaks the words “one more than that.” A difference of 0.45 seconds for more than a rush, all Holcomb needs to be done is to get his sled down the mountain without a huge incident, knowing that the result is such that no one could catch him.

All we had to do was not the wreckage prior to the curve 13, to make this the most dangerous path, one Holcomb himself dubbed “50-50″ after seeing about one out of every two of skis crash there last year.

Holcomb has sledmates grabbed each other by one last time, took another look at the bottom of the hill, and are willing to pay a “night train” – and threatening, flat black, high-tech ski that coveted by virtually every ski in the world – to the tradition Olympics.

Holcomb final letter, Olsen said, was: “one more run. Let’s do it.”

And a mere 51.52 seconds later, they did.

“They are embarrassed in the field,” said Rush. “They appeared in our backyard, and it’s kind of like the theme of this Olympic Games. The Americans have appeared in Canada and the skin for us.”

It’s barely been two weeks ago, Georgian drag Nodar Kumaritashvili crashed during a luge run, training and died just hours before the opening ceremony. Olympic track has faced a storm of criticism since then. There are dozens of accidents on the surface very quickly, and six during the day, four players with a high temperature alone, one bad enough to hit even the next American John Napier – some say it will be better than Holcomb – out of the Olympics with Sore neck.

The path may be the toughest in the world, but Holcomb make it appear dull.

“It’s a great thing for the United States,” Canada – 2 driver Pierre Lueders said. “We had competition in the sleigh for a long time, but was ruled out completely a few times, and certainly is talent, and I can not wait to see how he would do four years from now.”

It was not long ago that was Holcomb 20-500 vision – “profound visual impairment” – which could end his career on the ice skating before he could scrape up to $ 15,000 and contact lenses an integral part of behind the iris of the eye to correct the situation reversed.

“There was a moment when four of us were standing there and everyone had gone inside and we were off and in the past was a moment where I just stopped for half a second, taken at that,” said Mesler, who will think about retirement. “Four of us, empty parking lot, and go to the bottom of the hill. I will never forget that.”

In “Night Train” comrades and packed a few weeks ago, when he was surprised with the championship rings to flash four players win the world title.

A new piece of jewelry is waiting, do not do something for the United States 4 – A man by the Panel since 1948, when Tyler, Patrick Martin, Edward Rimkus, William D ‘Amico went to St. Moritz, won thegold medal.

“When the flag and play and` Star-Spangled Banner ‘to your son, “said Steve Holcomb, skiing and father, his voice choking in thinking,” Well, that’s great. ”

After four hours, it happened.

Men from the United States – 1 and jumped out of the medals on the podium together, and bowed their heads to get medals. They put their right hands on their hearts and blared the national anthem and the American flag was raised.

Holcomb common one last hug with Lang, the man was needed to win.

Skiing in the torch is passed.